Growing Pains
by awkwardfangirlwritesfanfiction
Summary: Henry has lost his memory the last thing he remembers his Mom is evil and the curse has yet to break. 7 years has passed and he does not remember a thing. He needs answers for a lot of things, but most importantly, since when were his Mom and Emma so...nice to each other?
1. Chapter 1

**So I had this idea a whiles back and not long ago put a prompt up on Tumblr as I really wanted to see it written, then the idea kept bugging me and I don't think anybody has wrote it yet so I thought why the hell not and this fic is born! I have chapter 2 already written so if this gets a good response I'll post that pretty quickly. Please review!**

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Henry slowly opened his eyes, groaning as he wakes up from what felt like a really long, deep sleep. He takes in his surroundings, white walls, machines beeping that are hooked up to him, Emma and his Mom sleeping on the small chairs near his bed, wait what?

"Emma? Mom?" Whoa why is my voice so deep? Henry thought while placing a hand that's not really his - but is on his throat. Regina woke first, smiled at Henry and then gasped, jumping up and effectively waking Emma up too.

"Henry! You're awake, thank God" Regina ran up towards the bed, her eyes wet with tears threatening to fall, and ran a hand through his hair. She frowned when Henry flinched away from her touch but she just ignored it - too happy that her son is awake.

"Henry!" Emma joined Regina at his bed grabbing his hand - since when is my hand bigger than Emma's? - "You scared us, kid. I'm gonna get the Doctor" she kissed his cheek and Henry was sure he saw Emma quickly run her hand through his Moms' hair affectionately before leaving - but he was probably still half sleep.

"I'm so glad you're awake Henry, we've been-" Henry glared at her when he interrupted.

"Why would you be glad? You're the Evil Queen - you did this to me didn't you? It's your fault why my hands are too big and my voice is too deep!" Regina gasped and stepped away from the bed, tears actually fallen now, staring at her son in shock and hurt. Before she could even think of how to respond, Emma arrived with Dr. Whale.

"Hello Henry, glad to see you are awake, are you feeling ok?" Dr. Whale asked while doing some routine checks on the monitors and on Henry.

"I'm ok, but why is my voice so deep?" Regina was slowly putting the pieces together while Emma just laughed.

"Kid, we gave you that talk a long time ago, please don't tell me we have to go through _that_ again" Emma grinned at him, but it slowly wiped off her face as she looked at Henry's serious face and turned to Regina who was now sitting in the chair with her head in her hands. "Regina? What's wrong?" Regina ignored the question and instead asked one of her own while lifting her head, looking at Henry.

"Henry...what is the last thing you remember?" she asked, fearful of the answer.

"I was trying to stop Emma from eating your poisoned apple turnover, I had a bite, blacked out and now I'm here" Henry had no idea who gasped or who sobbed, but he was getting more and more confused.

"Wait...how long was I cursed?" he looked down at his much taller body, inspected those too large hands again. Emma sobered herself, trying to calm down from the shock and tried to explain as simple as possible.

"You...weren't cursed for long...I kissed your head and you woke up...which also broke the curse" Henry's eyes widened as he sat up further on the bed.

"The curse is broken? Operation Cobra is complete? Emma you did it! I knew it, I knew I wasn't crazy!" His deep voice suddenly sounded so much like his younger self, and his large grin showed just how innocent the not-so-little boy is. Emma sat on his bed and took his hand, trying to keep him calm as she explained some more.

"Yes Henry, the curse is broken. It has been for...a while now" She paused, looked at Regina who was just staring at the ground, taking shaky breaths in and out "A lot has happened Henry since then, and well you have - as you can probably tell - grown a lot too, into a handsome young man" She gave him a lopsided grin and nudged him on the chin.

"I - I lost my memory? How old am I?" Dr. Whale stepped in, writing notes on his clipboard.

"You are 17 Henry, it has been just under 7 years since the curse broke" He used his doctor voice, trying to keep Henry as calm as possible. "You are definitely showing signs of memory loss, there is a big chance that in the right conditions and given some time that your memory returns" He gave a re-assuring smile and then he looked to his Mother's and indicated them to follow him outside.

When they left, Henry was in shock. 7 years? If the curse broke why are we still in Storybrooke? Why did I lose my memory? 7 years? Why is my mom not in prison...or dead? I've missed 7 years...

"Henry" A soft voice interrupted his thoughts "Dr. Whale said you can come home in a couple hours if you are feeling up to it"

"Where's home?" Emma smiled sadly before answering.

"Where it has always been, kid."

"I don't live with you?" Emma looked conflicted before she responded.

"You do."

"So where do we live? In Mary Margaret- I mean Snow's house?" He has to get used to this whole curse being real and broken thing.

"No. You still live in the mansion"

"You're the mayor?" No way Henry thought, Emma was cool and an awesome White Knight, but he didn't think she could do all that boring Mayor stuff. Emma sighed.

"No...Your Mom is still the Mayor...and she still lives in the mansion" Henry let the words sink in.

"We all live...together?" It was hard for Henry to grasp this - his Mom is the Evil Queen, why is she living with us?

"Yeah, um, it's...easier than having to...share you, we look after you...together now" Emma sounded as if she was choosing her words carefully, and Henry looked at her weirdly for a bit, but decided to keep it in mind for when he is getting answers from her later, right now he just wants to get out of the hospital gowns and into his clothes - oh man, all my clothes won't fit me anymore! - He mentally face palmed when he realised all his clothes would be different now...and 17 year old size. Wow. Talk about a growth spurt.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to all who has followed and favourited! And a big thanks to those who have reviewed! :) Don't hesitate to ask any questions you wanna know about the story or something you don't understand - just tell me and I will help as best I can. Oh and any suggestions to add stuff to the story are welcome! Ok? Hope you like it! **

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After getting changed - and inspecting his new, much...bigger body - he walked out into the waiting room where Emma, Regina, Snow and James were sitting. His grandparents were the first to jump up running up to him and engulfing him in a hug - it's gonna be hard getting used to be the taller one - Snow stroking his face and telling him to 'calm down it will be fine' even though Snow was more frantic than anyone else. James gave him a hard pat on the back before gently removing Henry from Snow's grasp and steered her away.

"We'll let you get home now with your Mothers', if you're up to it, we can catch up tomorrow at the diner?" James smiled at Henry and waved when Henry gave a little nod, he imagined there is quite a lot he has to 'catch up' on. Henry looked on in confusion as he watched SNOW WHITE lay a comforting hand on THE EVIL QUEENS arm and even more confusing, Regina didn't scowl or recoil from her touch, Regina smiled. A small, sad smile - but a smile nevertheless.

This has to be a dream, Henry thought as he held his head, suddenly feeling woozy. He swayed side to side before two sets of arms wrap around him and kept him upright, their worried voices blurring into to the background.

_Henry was suddenly standing in the town square, everywhere looked in ruin, like a war had broken out, but it was too quiet for that. He looked up, and in front of him was Emma, Regina, Snow and James all looking worse for wear - Regina looking the worst, those power suits don't look so powerful when they are ripped in various places. They were all standing over a lifeless body on the floor, a woman, wearing a dress you'd expect to see the Evil Queen wear._

_Henry noticed that Regina was crying, not looking at the body on the floor. Snow placed a comforting hand on her arm, Regina tensed, but then relaxed, accepting the comfort and gave Snow a small, sad smile._

"Whoa" Henry mumbled as he came to from what he suspects was a memory. Voices were getting louder and clearer and he noticed he was moving. He looked down to see a seatbelt around him. He was in a car? That...memory didn't last that long...did it? His Moms' hadn't noticed he was awake yet and were talking quietly to each other. Henry decided to see what they are talking about before announcing he was awake.

"It will be fine, Regina, I promise" Emma was driving - not the bug, Henry noticed.

"Emma, he-he called me the Evil Queen...He looked at me like...like he used to, and it hurts, it hurts so much! It took so long for him to trust me and love me and and now he hates me again" She's lying, Henry convinced himself, she just wants to hurt him, and hurt Snow white, this has to be a plan to cast another curse, I just need to figure out what.

"We'll get through it, 'Gina, we've pulled through worse crap over the years and we will be ok, we just gotta stick together...and not...overwhelm him" Henry watched as his brunette Mom looked at his blonde Mom with what looked like understanding. This is weirder than my voice, Henry thought.

"Are we going home?" he startled the two women at the front of the car.

"Jesus Henry, way to give us a heart attack!" Emma met his eyes in the rear-view mirror and smiled at him. "and yes, we're going home, Dr. Whale said that those blackout things were common...and it is likely that memories come through when you experience them, did you see anything?"

"Yeah, we was all at the town square which was all ruined and stuff, Mom was crying and there was a woman on the ground" Regina's breath hitched. Emma automatically reached over to her but stopped when Regina shook her head and tilted it towards Henry. Emma sighed and pulled back, focusing on the road.

"That was about 6 months after the curse broke...that woman was Cora, she came from fairy-tale land"

"Fairy-tale land? We were there? But it looked like Storybrooke" Henry's brain was working hard trying to piece everything together.

"No, that was Storybrooke...after I woke you and the curse broke, this thing was after Regina, and to save her, we had to open a portal to fairy-tale land to banish it there, and it worked but...I fell into the portal and Snow jumped in after me. A lot happened there - that's another story - when we got back, thanks to your Mom" Emma gave a teasing smile to Regina before carrying on "Cora managed to come through too and well...she was bad, but we eventually defeated her and that was what you saw" They were nearing the mansion now but Henry had one more question for this.

"But why were you crying?" He directed the question to Regina, curious to how quiet she is being. Emma began to answer for her but Regina decided to tell him herself.

"That...woman was my mother, and even though I helped to destroy her and I wanted her gone...she was still my mother, so I was sad, in a way. But it's fine now" Henry was quiet for a few moments before he whispered "I've missed so much..." Emma pulled in front of the house and turned round in her seat to face Henry.

"Henry, you are being so brave through this and I am so proud of you, and I believe that you can remember everything, me and your Mom will help you and if you having any questions, please ask us and we will answer the best we can, Ok?" Henry nodded and attempted a small smile before climbing out of the car. The mansion looked like Henry remembered it from the outside, the inside however had quite a few changes.

The first thing Henry noticed when he walked through the foyer was the red jacket draped carelessly over the staircase banister - which Regina scooped up and shoved it into Emma's chest like she had done it every day – which Henry imagines, she has. Henry felt too tall and awkward as he climbed the stairs, eager to see how his bedroom looks. Emma followed behind him – Regina is in the kitchen making her and Emma coffee, when Regina offered Henry some he scrunched up his face in disgust at the thought of coffee, and looked horrified when they told him that it is now his favourite drink. Emma re-assured Henry that it's the same room, just now it's for a teenage boy.

A double bed is what Henry notices first "Awesome!" and Emma chuckled when he dived onto the bed. He leaned on the headboard and inspected the rest of his room. His collection of comic books (much larger now – he's got a lot of reading to do) is stacked against his desk which has a laptop on it – this earns another "Awesome!" by Henry, and the desk is littered with bits and bats, he is surprised that his room is so messy, his Mom always made sure his room was clean. Emma answered for him.

"It is impossible for your Mom to get you to clean. She already has her hands full with nagging me to clean up!" It's weird, Henry thinks, at how happy Emma sounds that the Evil Queen is giving her orders, Emma is the princess and Regina is supposed to….well she's just not supposed to boss Emma around! And the Emma Henry knows doesn't listen to Regina…oh this is all too confusing.

"Are you ok? I know this is a lot to take in, but you're doing really well" Emma joined Henry on the bed and threw an arm around him. While Regina isn't here, Henry wants to question Emma and find out what the new Operation is called.

"Ok so what's the plan? Do you have Intel?" After seeing Emma's blank stare Henry elaborated. "That's why you're being nice to the Evil Queen right? To defeat her? Why has it taken 7 years?" Emma sighed then squeezed him tighter to her.

"Henry, your Mom is not the Evil Queen any more, she redeemed herself a long time ago. She has proved to you, me, to everyone that she has changed. I know…I know this is hard for you to believe, the first time didn't go well and it took you a while to trust your Mom again, but you do, you have to believe me that you do" No, this is all wrong Henry thought, the Evil Queen can't be good…can she? "You don't have to trust her right now, I understand. But promise me you won't say anything hurtful towards her" Henry hasn't seen this Emma before, she's so…Mom like.

"I er promise" It wasn't the most convincing promise he's ever given, but Emma seemed to be pleased enough with it to get up and head to the door.

"Dinner will be ready soon, you feeling up to it?" Emma laughed when Henry nodded eagerly – his appetite never had changed. "I'll be downstairs with your Mom, call us if you need anything" and with that she disappeared from the door. Leaving Henry alone in his bedroom that looked too small to him, the posters of unfamiliar bands and movies, and pictures he doesn't remember being taken. It all hit him then, and he curled up on his bed, clutching his pillow and cried. A ten year old in a seventeen year olds body. Henry has never felt so lost.


	3. Chapter 3

**I hope you like this chapter :) I already have 4 and part of 5 written up so if I get some reviews it may motivate to post them quicker ;) So please tell me what you think and...Enjoy!**

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When he calmed down, he headed to the main bathroom and cleaned himself up, looking down at the electric razor, horrified as he feels his slightly stubbled face. He's gonna have to ask James about _that._

He made his way to the kitchen where he heard voices and…was that _giggling_?! Henry fast walked as quietly as possible to the kitchen and looked through the door to discover his Mothers in what seemed to be a wrestle for the pie that Regina is shielding, and Emma trying to grab. It shocked Henry into silence seeing Regina so…_loose_. He can recall on one hand the occasions that his Mom has laughed like that, so happy and carefree. As they spun while wrestling, Regina's laugh was abruptly cut off when she saw Henry standing in the doorway, a look of disbelief and shock on his face.

Regina removed herself from Emma's arms and set the pie back on the counter. Emma was about to question the brunettes sudden change of attitude but stopped also when she saw Henry.

"Hey kid…dinners almost ready, would you set the table for me? Everything is in pretty much the same place" When Henry didn't move, Emma pushed him into action and turned back to Regina. Henry obeyed, but glanced back to see Emma run a hand through Regina's hair – and this time he is sure he saw it. As Henry set the table he tried to understand what was going on, he _never_ thought his Mom and Emma could get along – even if he believed that his Mom had changed for the better, they never have had a conversation that didn't turn into an argument. It's been 7 years but…they were close, like _really_ close. If he didn't know better he would think they were Snow and Charming close, he laughed to himself - _as if._

Regina and Emma walked in holding the three plates between them and other things to set on the table. Henry watched as they moved around the table like a practiced dance, Regina raising her arm for Emma to duck under when they crossed paths.

"So we do this often then?" They had sat down, Regina at the head of the table with Emma and Henry on either side. Emma laughed around a piece of lasagna and swallowed before answering.

"Eat Dinner? Yeah the future still has regular dinner times, kid" Henry rolled his eyes at Emma's attempt at humour and carried on

"I _meant_, like this, all together" His mom may be/was the Evil Queen but she is still his Mom, and finding out that he had been a part of a family for the past 7 years is pretty great – if a little overwhelming.

"Course we do, sometimes you go out –cause you know, you're a _big boy_ and everything, and sometimes I attempt to cook….and then we go to the Diner for dinner" Henry was glad to know that not everything had changed – Emma still can't cook.

"Oh. Cool. Do I umm call you Mom now, too? Or is it still Emma?" he tilted his head to one side, trying to figure out how they worked as a family.

"Not Mom, no. 'Gina is Mom, and I'm Ma" Henry tried to ignore the fact that Emma or 'Ma' had called his Mom 'Gina for the second time now and she didn't even react to it, no _'Ms. Swan I do not appreciate you making up nicknames for me, are we clear?'_ nothing.

"Ma" Henry said, testing out the name. He smiled, liking the way it sounded. "Okay I can do that" Henry turned and looked at his Mom, who has not spoken a word to Henry since she offered him coffee and even that was uncomfortable. He can't remember the last time they had a conversation where he didn't accuse her or something or she didn't shout at him for something. He has no idea how to talk to his Mom, why did Emma- Ma have to tell him to be _nice _when all he knows is how to ignore her or accuse her.

"Um thanks Mom…for dinner" it was awkward and unconvincing, but Regina looked at him as if he had just said that he was Jesus, and Emma's smile lit up the whole room.

"You're welcome, Henry" he could do this, Henry smiled back at Regina and continued to eat, it wasn't too hard to be nice to his Mom, the trust wasn't there and he still thinks that evil is in Regina, but he can be _nice _and that's good enough for now.

"Yeah _Mom_ thanks for dinner….now can I have the pie?" Emma stuck out her bottom lip and looked at Regina. Was Ma giving Mom _puppy eyes_? Obviously this won't work; his Mom won't fall for Emma's puppy eyes-

"Ugh alright, just save a piece for Henry and I this time" Regina smirked at the blonde and laughed when Emma stuck her tongue out at her. What is going on? Henry cannot understand why they are acting like this, it was so…._weird._

After they cleared the dishes Emma walked in with the pie and three plates. She loaded 2 big pieces on her plate and then served Regina and Henry their pieces. Henry looked at the piece of pie on his plate and he noticed, it was an _apple_ pie.

"Um, I don't want dessert" both of his Mothers were about to ask why when they both realised at the same time. This caused Regina to excuse herself and briskly walk away and Emma to take a few steps in her direction before sighing and turning to Henry.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

"No it's alright, the last time you remembered having apples, you fell into a magical coma, and it's understandable. It's just…your Mom has tried so hard to deserve you and it seems to her that she's starting at square one again, but it'll be ok, don't worry. Just stay here while I talk to her"

"Since when did you and Mom become friends?" he needed to know why they were so close. Emma frowned for a moment before trying to explain.

"Well, after we saved each other a bunch of times and we realised just how alike we are in some ways and well, you. We just started to talk more and argue less. Well there is definitely plenty of arguing still, but it's different now." Henry blinked and thought it over and Emma ruffled his hair and went off to get Regina. Henry had a feeling that his Ma wasn't giving him the whole truth and so quietly followed after her.

Emma went out the back door and headed to where Regina is standing – in front of her apple tree. Henry watched from the kitchen window, seeing Emma put her hands on Regina's shoulders – who has her arms crossed.

Whatever Emma said must have worked as Regina uncrossed her arms and seemed to relax a little, so did Henry until he saw his Mom step closer towards his Ma, burying her face into Emma's neck and wrapping her arms around her waist, Emma responded by wrapping her arms around the brunette's neck and cradling her head to her neck. Henry looked on in disbelief before he started to feel dizzy.

He knew what was coming as he swayed so he quickly staggered towards a chair and collapsed in it. Then everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow! Thank you so much for the reviews, I'm really glad that you enjoy it and I hope you continue to do so! I was going to wait longer to update but the reviews made me so happy I just had to update now! I'm writing up the next chapter as we speak.**_  
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**I feel that Henry would a very sure view of how things go - so he expects Emma to find her prince (Just like Snow White did) and naturally that would be his happy ending - I just think that would be his mindset, so that will be a hurdle we will have to go through when Henry finds out.  
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**Oh and I added a head-canon I saw on Tumblr - points if you know what it is!  
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_This time, Henry was in his room. It looks like how it should do though, very clean, single bed, no laptop. Without meaning to he was walking to his window looking out to the front of the mansion. Standing in front of Emma's yellow bug, was his Mom and Ma._

_Before he knew it they were hugging, like, really hugging. And this made him angry. The memory took him outside and he was facing his Moms. "NO YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE SAVIOUR AND A PRINCESS, YOU HAVE TO FIND YOUR PRINCE, NOT HUG AN EVIL QUEEN" both his Mothers separated immediately and looked at him with hurt in their eyes._

_Emma knelt down in front of him so they are eye to eye. "Just because I'm a princess, does not mean I have to 'find a prince' that crap only happens in fairy-tales and before you say anything, I am NOT a part of any fairy-tale, I make my own choices, and if I want to hug Regina, I will, because I care about her, and she's not an evil queen any more" it seemed both memory Henry and 17 year old Henry were having trouble in understanding this. So his Ma is not going to find her true love? How can they have their happy ending now?_

When Henry woke up, Emma and Regina's faces came into focus.

"You remembered something?" Emma asked, while Regina was checking Henry for any injuries but since he was sat down he only slumped in his chair when he blacked out.

"Um...yeah it was nothing though, just us hanging out" Henry remembered his promise to Emma to be nice to his Mom, so he decided to keep what he saw to himself. He didn't like that memory anyway, the disappointment and hurt from both his Mothers was not nice at all. He would have to ask his Ma's parents, they are Snow White and Prince Charming so they'll know what to do and help him get his happy ending for him and for Emma.

"It's never nothing, Henry. Believe it or not, after a year or so things started to calm down a lot here" Regina had finished her injury check and headed over to make some hot chocolate for Henry – he'll be off the coffee for a while.

Emma snorted "I wouldn't call it calm 'Gina"

"Yes well, it is calm for our standards, dear" Emma smirked and nodded in agreement before helping a still half-awake Henry.

When Regina handed Henry his hot chocolate, he took a small sip and when he confirmed to himself it was poison free, he gulped it down. It didn't take long to see the bottom of the mug, his mouthfuls being a hell of a lot larger than Henry was used to.

Despite having just been unconscious, Henry was feeling sleepy. He briefly wondered if he got tucked in anymore.

"You wanna go bed, Kid?" Emma asked, noticing her sons' eyes drooping. Henry nodded and the hesitated before he left. "What's wrong?"

"I just…I know I'm technically…but I was just wondering if…" Emma was clueless to what Henry was babbling on about, whereas Regina understood straight away.

"Of course we will tuck you in darling" Henry gave his Mom a shy smile, still unsure around her. But progress is progress.

After Henry got himself ready for bed, missing his Iron Man PJ's when he found joggers' and white T's in his drawer, he settled himself in bed and waited for his Moms. Shortly after he heard a soft knock at his door "Come in"

He could tell that Emma was finding this extremely awkward as she shuffled in behind Regina, giving him a little wave. Regina, on the other hand, looked as if she was going to burst into tears at any moment; she had missed tucking her son in at night. They stood at his side of the bed and Regina expertly arranged and tightened his duvet and blanket around him before kissing his head and then motioning to Emma to do the same. Emma leaned in front of Regina and mimicked her kiss on Henry and pulled away.

They said their goodnights and were about to leave before Henry's voice stopped them.

"Tell me something." he simply stated.

"Anything?"

"Just...just something little, a moment that I've...forgotten" Henry didn't see Emma briefly squeezing Regina's hand to make sure she doesn't end up sobbing.

"Of course, Henry" Regina smiled and her and Emma sat on the empty side of the bed. They looked at each other for a moment, having a silent conversation, then Emma nodded to Regina, telling her to take the lead.

"When you were twelve, I taught you how to bake a pie and well Emma wasn't so happy that you managed to bake a perfect pie first try where she still...well there's room for improvement..."

_Regina and Henry were working hard on making the pastry for Henry's first pie while Emma was hovering around them, impatiently waiting for them to finish. _

_"Are you not done yet? That looks okay to me" Emma hadn't the faintest idea of what it is supposed to look like, but she was hungry...as always._

_"No, and I'm sorry dear but your 'okay' ended up as a soggy pie last time so forgive me if I don't use you guidance" this earns an eye roll from Emma._

_"It's gonna be perfect Ma! I think I got Mom's cooking skills so this pie will be great!" Emma looked offended, she only burnt dinner like...10 times! Which means nothing as Regina has only allowed her to cook a handful of times._

_Mother and son continued to bake and then put the pie in the oven, Regina got Henry to set the timer and then he proceeded to sit in front of the oven to watch it cook. Neither woman could get him to move and so he sat there for 70 minutes, his amused Mothers' dropping in the kitchen every now and then to see him in the same position as before._

_When the timer rung, Henry jumped up. "Mom! My pie is ready! Mom come on!" Regina rushed into the kitchen and took the pie out. It was perfect._

_"Well done Henry! You did it perfect first try"_

_"Look Ma! First try!" the blonde mumbled something about a 'fluke' and stomped from the kitchen, the two brunettes laughing at her mini tantrum._

"I still say it was a fluke"

"And were all the other delicious things Henry baked flukes too?"

"...yeah" Emma mumbled, causing them to once again laugh at the un-skilled cook. Emma soon joined in, and for a moment, it was as if nothing bad had happened. Henry yawned and the two women decided that was their queue to leave. But before they went, Henry asked one more question.

"...Ma? Where do you sleep? I checked the guest room before and the bed had no sheets and it's a really boring room" Both the women froze, before Regina recovered for both of them.

"That is your Ma's room, we've just been...re-decorating so that's why it's so empty" Emma quickly nodded and smiled too brightly at Henry before saying goodnight and leaving to make her new bed for the night.

"Mom? I'm...I'm sorry" he looked so small in that moment, fiddling with the edge of his blanket.

"Oh Henry, you have nothing to be sorry for, Ok? It took us a long time to be close, and I'll do it all again, because Henry, _you_ are worth it. I love you so much, goodnight" She kissed his cheek one last time and left his room, switching off his light and closing the door.

When she turned to face the hallway, she was met with a very grumpy Emma Swan.

"I can't believe I have to sleep in the guest room" Emma pouted, stepping closer to Regina.

"I'm sure you can survive, dear"

"Yeah, but for how long? We haven't had to sneak around for ages now, in fact it was around about the time that wonderful story you told our son was. Any chance you can bring up my lack of cooking skills, you leap at it" Regina grinned, and then gave Emma a quick peck to the lips.

"Of course, it's a great source of entertainment. Well, I think...it's going...ok with Henry, he let me kiss him on the cheek...it's not a lot but it's something. And hopefully that means that it won't take long for him to accept us...again. We have to wait, though. Like you said, we don't want to overwhelm him." Emma nodded and leaned in for a goodnight kiss, smiling when Regina slipped her hand into her back jean pocket – it's Regina's favourite place to be.

"Right. Well I guess I'm heading down the hall then...on my own" Emma pouted again, and Regina answered by giving her a last peck on the lips and leaving Emma in the hallway, still pouting.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for the reviews! Longer update than normal - I just couldn't seem to stop it, but I hope you enjoy anyway! Please review, I'll try and update as soon as possible.**

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Henry woke to a knocking on his door.

"Come on Henry, you're meeting with your Grandparents in an hour!" Henry groaned in response, normally he would be straight out of bed, but the bed is so warm that Henry could imagine hibernating there for a while, must be a teenager side effect he thought to himself.

"I'm up" he slowly got himself out of bed, stretching his long limbs. He was already getting use to his larger body - maybe his body remembers more than him. And it was kinda cool being taller than most people.

After he washed and dressed, he went downstairs and found his Mothers in the kitchen having their breakfast.

"Are you not coming with me to the diner?" Henry was used to being escorted around everywhere, rarely was there a time when he was not supervised.

"We thought you could spend some time with your Grandparents, and some other people around the diner, I bet your sick of just seeing us two" Emma winked at him before sipping her coffee.

"Everybody has missed you, Henry. It would be selfish of us to keep you to ourselves, as much as we want to" Regina smiled at him and proceeded to usher him out of the door.

"Ok...does everyone know? About me forgetting?"

"You know how Storybrooke is, rarely anything is unknown here. Your idiot Grandmother knows, and she would of told Ruby, who would have told just about everybody else. Everyone loves you, Henry, I'm sure they'll handle it well and not overwhelm you...that much. Now go, have fun" Henry headed out the door, turning back once to see his Mom waving him off, he quickly waved back, then headed off to the diner.

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When he opened the door to the diner, the whole room went silent. Then, as sudden as the silence, everyone burst into action, some cheering and some coming over to give him a hug. It seemed like the whole town was there, and Henry was trying to keep track of the people he's seen, which ones have kept their Storybrooke name and which has went back to their original.

"Ok everyone! Give him some space" James' authoritative voice boomed through the diner, and the people surrounding Henry went back to their booths or sat at the bar, leaving Henry facing his grandparents.

"Come! Sit down!" Snow was as chirpy as ever, and lead them to a booth and her and James slipped into one side, while Henry sat opposite.

"So, have you been doing okay? Have you remembered much?" Snow was practically jumping out of her seat.

"Snow, calm down, you're going to scare the poor boy" James grinned, poking Snow softly on her stomach.

"Sorry" Snow laughed, and slowed her breathing, calming down a bit. Henry grinned at them, happy to see the two people he worked so hard at getting together, finally where they belonged.

"I remembered the battle to defeat my Mom's Mom and um...something else" Henry trailed off and his Grandparents glanced at each other before looking worriedly at Henry.

"Something else?" Henry sighed.

"Has my Ma found true love yet? If she has where is he?" All he got from Snow and James was their mouths opening and closing, the only sound being the occasional "Ummm" or "ahhh". Their fish expressions stopped when someone burst into the diner, running straight to Henry, sliding into the booth next to him and wrapping their arms around his neck.

"Oh thank God" the woman wrapped around muffles into his shoulder. Henry didn't know what to do; he didn't even know who she was. She pulled back and looked at Henry.

"Umm...hi" Henry started awkwardly, and tried to place a name to her face, she looked familiar, but he couldn't seem to work it out. The girl's face dropped after a moment, and Henry decided that he didn't like when this pretty woman doesn't smile.

"Oh my god, ohmygodohmygodohmygod I know some people were saying...and ohmygod 7 years, you wouldn't...you won't...you don't know who I am, do you?" She was on the verge of tears, and Henry found himself fighting back the tears - though he doesn't know why - when he shakes his head.

"Oh" she took a shaky breathe, and seemed to calm herself down a bit. Giving Henry a small smile she took one of his hands.

"I'm Ava...your um...your-"

"Girlfriend"

"SNOW!" Both James and Ava shouted, causing the brunette to shrink down a bit.

"Sorry, but you are just so cute together how on earth could you pass as friends"

Henry was quite shocked, to say the least, he definitely liked her, and she is really pretty, but...a girlfriend?

"So you're Gretel?" Ava cringed when she heard the name.

"Yeah, I was...I prefer Ava though, so I kept it" It seemed like quite a lot of the town preferred their Storybrooke name. "So did Nicholas, or Nick, as everyone calls him"

"You talking 'bout me again sis?" An 18 year old Nick appeared and stood next to their booth and flicked his hair away from his face.

"Oh I didn't say anything nice, don't you worry" Ava grinned up at her brother.

"Ha Ha. We gotta go, Dad needs help fixing the pick-up" So their Dad is still the mechanic and is still...their Dad, Henry smiled, the saviour did well.

"Ugh, alright. I'll see you later Henry?" Henry nodded dumbly at her and his mouth dropped open when she kissed him on the cheek before she left.

"Close your mouth, bro, she isn't that great" Nick laughed then patted Henry's shoulder. "Good to see you up and around again, we should hang out soon - maybe it'll bring back some memories?" Henry nodded again, feeling quite happy, he had friends now...and a girlfriend, that's something to get used to.

"Are you okay Henry?" Snow asked while covering his hand with hers. Henry smiled.

"Yeah, I think I am" it was smiles all round in their booth, and then Henry asked seriously "Gramps...wh-what do you know about shaving?" he had a terrified expression which made James laugh before promising Henry he will master it in no time.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at number 108 Regina closed the door when Henry disappeared round the corner. She walked back into the kitchen, sat down at the island next to Emma, and sighed.

"Do you think he's going to be ok?"

"Yeah, of course he is, everyone is gonna be waiting on him hand and foot" Emma smiled; she wouldn't be surprised if the whole town had shown up.

"But what if someone tells him things that he should be hearing from us" It was obvious to what 'things' Regina was referring to and Emma reached out to tuck Regina's hair behind her ear, trailing her hand down before stopping at her neck.

"I'm sure that they'll know not to mention something like that, even Ruby will keep that to herself." Emma hopes so, anyway. It would be so easy wouldn't it? Just a slip of the tongue, and he would know. "We'll have to tell him soon, though"

"I know...I'm just scared at how he'll react. He didn't take it well the first time, and he was 13 then...now he's 10 in his mind and you know how he was. 'Emma go find your prince' 'Why are you talking to my Mom, go over to that guy over there he could be your true love' 'Kiss that frog maybe he'll-" Regina's ramblings were cut short by Emma's lips.

"What was that for" Regina mumbled against her wife's lips.

"Sorry, I heard kiss so naturally..." She pulled back and smiled at Regina, who hit her lightly on her arm while quietly laughing at Emma's dorkiness.

"Oh! We need to talk to Ava...I'm sure she's heard but..."

"Crap. We're not gonna have to give him the talk again are we? I barely got through it the first time" Emma winced at the memory of Regina - ever organised, educating Henry through a PowerPoint, Emma was more mortified than Henry was.

"I think I still have the PowerPoint saved on my computer" Regina laughed at the horror on Emma's face. Emma reached around Regina's neck and softly pulled the necklace from where it was hidden under her shirt, and stroked the ring attached to it.

"I miss this being on your finger" Regina held the hand that was covering the ring, bringing it up to her lips and kissing it. "Me too" she whispered, and they smiled shyly at each other. Even after being together for about 5 years, they both still had trouble voicing their feelings. It had gotten better, but some of the damage dealt to both women can never be truly fixed. They coped though, together.

They cleared up their breakfast and went into the living room. Emma flipped the TV on and flopped on one side of the couch while Regina picked up her book she was currently reading and settled on the other side of the couch, stretching her legs across it, her feet resting on Emma's lap. This was how they spent most afternoons when neither had to work or be anywhere else.

Emma groaned after flicking through the channels finding nothing good to watch. "Giiiiinaaa there's nothing on"

Without looking up from her book, Regina answered "Then go read a book" she heard a sigh from Emma and then her feet were lifted. Regina continued to focus on the words in front of her as she felt Emma place her feet back down and slowly crawl on all fours over the brunette.

"No. I'm reading" Emma continued to crawl up Regina until she reached where the brunette was holding her book, lifting Regina's arm and sliding herself through it, now nestled in between the book and her wife. She got herself comfortable on top of Regina, resting her head beneath her neck and wrapping her arms around the mayor.

"Comfortable?" Regina raised an eyebrow at her wife's sudden need to cuddle. Emma breathed deeply and tightened her hold slightly, mumbling an affirmative "mmhm"

When Regina was sure Emma wouldn't try to start certain...activities, she continued to read, feeling peaceful as she absentmindedly played with Emma's blonde hair.

"It was so weird sleeping without you there...ugh I can't believe I'm the dependant one, I used to prefer sleeping alone...what have you done to me?" Regina closed her book and set it down on the table nearby, and laid her arm over the blonde's waist.

"If it makes you feel any better, I believe I would of gotten a better sleep if you were there" Emma laughed at Regina's round-a-bout way of saying she missed her. The sheriff thought it was adorable.

"It does. I don't know about you, but I'm gonna have a nap" Emma craned her neck up to kiss Regina's jaw before settling down again. Regina decided to carry on reading while there is peace and quiet.

* * *

Back at the diner, Henry was enjoying the company and attention he was getting, hearing little stories from his life, the residents more than happy to recall some of the important events. Henry now knows

After Nova, and the rest of the fairy's left Storybrooke, Leroy started to drink away his sorrows at the Diner - and in turn spending more time with Granny, and soon enough Granny made her move on the former dwarf - and was successful.

Rumple had gone to find his son with no such luck - leaving him more broken than he was before. He still makes half-hearted attempts of reaching out to Belle, who, since crossing the town line has yet to remember him. Henry notices that people are not afraid of the Dark One anymore, most feel sorry for him.

Snow and James had their third wedding - they wanted to make it official in this world too. It was a grand affair, not fairy-tale castle standards, but still pretty damn impressive.

Snow had told him that he and Ava had been friends before they finally took the next step about a year and a half ago and are in his Grandmother's words "The cutest couple in all the lands" Henry cringed a bit at that.

There were new residents to the town, Mulan and Aurora and a few others that didn't originally come to Storybrooke are now here. Mulan is a deputy and Aurora helps Belle out in the library.

August is happily working with his Dad at their shop.

Kathryn had found her prince Frederick (or Fred as he now goes by) and they now have 2 children. Henry learns that Kathryn is his Mom's best friend, they must have made up about the whole kidnapping thing he thought, as he realises that not one person has bad mouthed the former Evil Queen, some even asking how her and his Ma are doing.

He asked his Grandparents if everyone got their happy ending.

"It has taken time, and not all are as fortunate as others, but most are happy now" Henry noticed that James said 'now' instead of saying people got their 'happy endings', when he pointed that out, James blinked as if he saw Henry shrink back down to a ten year old and then straightened himself to say

"Things are different in this world Henry, it's not so...black and white as my old world was, here you take it day by day, and most of the days are happy, not all of them are, but that's okay. You have to work for your Happiness all the time, but it's always worth it."


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry this update took a bit longer to get out but I hope it's worth the wait! I've had a crappy few days so I would appreciate reviews _even _more, they make me smile so...yeah :) Big things happening this chapter, hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Henry was exhausted. He spent most of the day in the diner surrounded by most of Storybrookes' citizens, getting told about some of the last 7 years that he had missed. Then, August took him around the town on the back of his bike – which Henry was particularly excited about.

During his tour of the town, another memory hit Henry when he and August stopped in front of the flower shop named the Game of Thorns and the now familiar wooziness took over him and he fell back into August, reliving a memory from when he was only 12 years old.

_Henry was walking down the street with Emma when he noticed that the blonde had stopped walking, and is now looking at the flower shop window from across the street._

_"Um...what are you doing?" Henry found himself saying. These memory things are weird, he thinks, like I'm watching a movie but I'm it and I can feel and smell. Emma jumped as if she just noticed Henry was standing next to her and then glanced at him before returning her gaze to the shop._

_"Just..." she trailed off then began to cross the street, heading towards the Game of Thorns, leaving Henry confused at his mother's strange behaviour._

_"Ma...Wait!" He shot off, running after her. When he reached the entrance and opened the door Emma was walking slowly around the shop, looking like she was conflicted on something far more serious than flowers._

_"What are you doing?" still puzzled, Henry watched Emma as she scratched her head, turning to Henry._

_"I err wanted to...well I think I'll...I don't know" this didn't help Henry at all, Emma was still pacing around the shop when the door behind Henry opened, revealing Ruby._

_"Hey Em, Henry, whatcha doing?" Henry shrugged his shoulders "I have no idea" Emma took a breath of relief and grabbed Ruby's arm, pulling her away from Henry. Emma gave a signal to Henry, telling him to stay there for a minute while the adults talked. Henry sighed; he hated it when adults left him out just because he was a kid. He obeyed, and watched the facial expressions on the women's faces as they talked._

_First, Emma continued to look conflicted, as she supposedly explains to Ruby what was going on. Ruby broke out into a teasing grin, saying something, which earned her a light shove from Emma. Then, Ruby sobered, putting her hands on the blondes shoulders while nodding, and then steered her to a section of flowers, patting her playfully on the bum before waving at Henry, then disappearing to the back of the shop - probably to meet Belle, Henry thought._

_When Henry reached Emma, she was browsing a few bouquets of flowers. "So, what're you doing?" hoping to get an answer this time, he rocked slightly on his feet, showing his impatience._

_"Getting flowers for your Mom" she stated simply._

_Henry's face scrunched up in confusion "But it's not her birthday"_

_"I know...I er just thought it'd be nice" she glanced at him out of the side of her eye before continuing to look at the flowers 'adults' Henry sighed, and decided to wait outside the shop - how anyone can be surrounded by so many flowers and their smells - Henry doesn't know._

_When Emma exited the shop, Henry couldn't see her due to the bunch of flowers in front of her face. "Okay let's go home kid" he heard from behind the mini garden._

_They arrived at the mansion shortly after (for Henry it was seconds - it seems his memories only want him to remember important things, not walking to places) and Emma's steps slowed down as she approached the mansion, and she looked as if she was going to turn around and run for it, but the door opened before she had chance to take another step._

_"You're back I-" Regina's words stopped as she took in the sight of a bouquet of flowers with jean clad legs underneath them. She looked to Henry, who once again shrugged, and the memory walked him inside even though Henry wanted to stay - can't he see that something important is going to happen? Henry shook his head at his younger (or was it older?) self for being so naive. _

_Thankfully, the memory Henry didn't fully close the front door and he could peek through and clearly hear and see his Mothers. He watched as Emma's head peeked around the side of the flowers, shyly smiling at Regina._

_Emma started speaking, she sounded incredibly nervous and she didn't make much sense "Um I got these I – I don't know if- but I thought I should-I know we're not there yet but I-" Regina remained silent while the blonde rambled on, she stepped forward and gently took the flowers from Emma's hands._

"_Thank you, for the flowers. However you do know that I have just brought some fresh flowers in yesterday" Emma's face dropped in disappointment as she made to take the flowers back. Regina pulled the flowers away from the blondes reach. "They can go in my bedroom. __**Someone**__ did say that I had to 'liven the place up' as it looks like 'a funeral directors bedroom'" Regina smirked and Emma smiled again, awkwardly putting her hands in her front jean pockets._

When Henry came to, he was inside the flower shop; he knew this straight away as the pungent smell of different flowers invaded his nostrils. He got up quickly, ignoring the lingering wooziness and told August to drive him home. Now.

The loud motorbike parked in front of the mansion, August not getting a chance to say goodbye to Henry as the boy had already taken off his helmet, handed it to August, and has started storming up the path leading to the door. Shrugging his shoulders, August left it up to his parents to deal with him and drove off.

Before Henry reached the door it opened, revealing Regina in her reading glasses with Emma behind her, rubbing her eyes. "You're home early; I thought you were going to spend the day with your grandparents"

Devoid of any emotion in his tone or face, Henry said "I remembered something" then walked past his mothers, heading to the living room and taking a seat in an armchair. Emma and Regina exchanged looks before following after him, concern etched on their faces.

"Henry?" Emma started quietly as she and Regina entered the room. Henry didn't say anything until the two women sat down on the couch opposite him. He had pieced it together – he thinks, a part of him is hoping that he is wrong but he knows, now he just had to get his mothers to admit it to him.

"When were you gonna tell me?" he carried on talking in his emotionless voice, unnerving his mothers.

"Tell…tell you what Henry?" Emma winced as she said the words, it was obvious as to _what_, Emma just wanted to prolong the inevitable. Looking much more like the teenager the women know, Henry rolled his eyes. "Ok, ok. We were going to tell you, kid…it's just, you have just been through a lot and we didn't want to over complicate things"

"But things are already complicated! Really Ma? The Evil Queen? I could have lived without you wanting to find a prince but _this_?" Henry now had raised his voice, making Regina wince; his words stung her hard.

"Whoa kid you gotta calm down. I'm going to tell you this again. Your. Mom. Is. Not. Evil. She hasn't been for a _very_ long time now and I will not let you talk to her with such disrespect-" Emma had been raising her voice and standing up from her seat, only to be stopped by Regina tugging her hand, urging her to calm down and sit. Regina muttered "it's okay" to her wife before facing the hurtful stare from her son.

"I know that you're mad. I know that this isn't exactly what you pictured – but Henry, we're _happy_. So were you before…we are a family, Henry. It hasn't been easy, but we stuck together through the years and I finally have what I always wanted…my happy ending" Regina ended with a small smile, whereas Emma scoffed "We are trying to get him _off_ the fairy tale stuff" Regina replied with a "oh shush" and lightly shoving the blonde.

Seeing this exchange, seeing them so comfortable and _easy_ together shocked Henry, who just shook his head, not letting himself believe it.

"But what about your true love Emma! You can't be wasting time with _her_ when your true love is out there somewhere!" Emma had had enough; she stood up from the couch, going full on 'Mom mode'

"That's it! I've had enough. I know that this is all overwhelming but kid can't you _see_? Has it not occurred to you that Regina is my true love? I do not want to hear anymore hurtful things coming from you, you promised me. Now just…just go to your room" Emma's voice was stern and even Regina was surprised at Emma's discipline. Henry looked at his Ma with wide eyes and then ran to his room, a slam echoing the house when he shut it.

Emma squeezed her eyes shut when she heard the slam, and kept the tears away. That is until she felt Regina wrap one arm around her waist while the other hand guided Emma's head to her chest, comforting the blonde the best way she knew how. Emma wrapped her arms around Regina and let the tears flow out.


	7. Chapter 7

**Another update for you! I'm pretty proud of myself, I've never stuck with a story this long and I'm determined to complete this! In this chapter you get quite a lot of back story of what happened in the 7 years that Henry missed, I wasn't planning on giving it that much thought but I started writing and I wanted to explain everything properly, I hope I'm telling the story well**

**I really really hope you review - I would love to know what you think! I'm grateful for the 100+ followers but it would be wonderful if some more of you give me your opinion :) Thank you and enjoy!  
**

* * *

Henry lay awake in his bed, staring at the ceiling. He simply just couldn't understand, he had so many questions he didn't know where to start. One question in particular was really puzzling him – how could Snow White let her daughter be with the Evil Queen? So to get his answer he used one of his old tricks and sneaked out of the house through his bedroom window by making a makeshift rope with his bed sheets.

He quickly made his way to Snow and Charming's house which August directed him to earlier that day and knocked on the door. Snow opened the door with a 3 year old on her hips.

"Hen Hen!" the girl squealed and reached out to Henry and he smiled hesitantly at the girl he learned to be Elsie earlier that day. Snow had gushed about her baby girl and said that Archie was babysitting while they were at the diner and he could meet his aunty (talk about a complicated family tree) the next day, but here Henry stood, looking lost on his grandparent's doorway.

"Henry! Come in! What are you doing here? Is everything alright?" Henry just sighed and allowed himself to be lead inside the house and onto a couch in the living room where James sat.

"Henry, are you okay?" both the Charming's were concerned at Henrys silence and posture and so joined Henry on the couch and waited for him to explain.

"My Ma and m-m" he stuttered to a stop and his grandparents instantly knew that he had just found out about his parents and their...relationship. "You _can't_ be okay with that!" he directed this at Snow, his arms waving around widely as if trying to get them to understand the scale of the problem.

"I wasn't. I...wasn't the most supportive of them...I'm still not exactly thrilled that my daughter is in love with Regina but...I've learned to accept it, for Emma and for you. Even for little Elsie, here" Snow lightly tickled the toddler in her arms, causing Elsie to squirm and giggle.

Henry stayed silent for a moment, actually hearing from someone else, especially from Snow, that his Ma was in love...with the Evil Queen - or former Evil Queen as everyone is so sure of it these days. "...Why for Elsie?"

"Well...your Mother was quite...taken to Elsie the moment she met her, the same with Elsie, the constant fighting had to stop as it was upsetting Elsie...she loves her Aunty Regina" instantly the toddler perked up and clapped her hands "GiGi!" Snow smiled slightly at her daughter before looking up to her grandson. "She loves her"

Henry remembered the times when he was young, before the book and Emma happened, he had a really good relationship with his Mom, and he wondered if that is how she acts with Elsie now. A strange feeling of jealously ran through him as he thought that.

"How...how long have they..." he can't seem to finish the sentence, still not quite believing it.

"Since you were 12. They kept it secret from everyone - well except Ruby, she found out almost immediately - don't ask me how, _please_. It was a secret for about 8 months until..." She trailed off and shared a look with her husband.

"Until what?" Henry wasn't entirely sure he wanted the answer.

"Well..." Snow started

_Everybody attended the monthly town meeting, and this month was no different. Snow and James sat at the head table, joined by Emma and The Blue Fairy, facing the towns' citizens. Regina stood at the back of the town hall, along with Rumple and a few other 'villains' that the majority of Storybrooke do not trust. _

_After Cora had been defeated, some of Storybrooke wanted to return to their homeland and so that had been the next move to make, many failed attempts followed, and only when they made another vial of True Love potion (Snow and Charming happily surrendered a strand of their hair) did something happen. When the potion was poured down the well, everyone looked in suspense, waiting for an indication that a portal has opened. _

_The silence lasted for minutes and just as people started to murmur, a set of hands appeared from inside the well, and out climbed a woman, clearly a warrior, with long dark hair pulled into a ponytail. She didn't acknowledge the large group of people gawking at her, instead she reached inside the well to help another woman climb out, and only when she was safe on the ground did the warrior turn to the people and said in a clear, authoritative tone "Expect more of us. That land is baron, and infested with Ogres and other beasts. It is not safe there anymore" she nodded at them and then turned back to the slightly shorter woman, grasping her shoulders "You did well. I wouldn't have been able to save everyone if it wasn't for you, Aurora. You are a true warrior"_

_The people of Storybrooke were still staring slack jawed at the women when slowly but surely more people climbed out of the well and joined this new world...their world now. Charming took the lead and calmed the new additions, and then told everyone that no one is going back to their old world. It was slowly accepted after that, hearing your homeland is baron is devastating, but this world is a fresh start._

_Back at the town meeting, the argument started again. It always started with a random person in the crowd shouting something out, which got everyone started and it was always about the same thing._

_"So when are we going to kill the Evil Queen?!" a random person shouted out, followed by a few others agreeing, the noise quickly building in the large town hall. Emma pounded her fist on the table in front of her and stood up._

_"Never. That's when. You all full well know that she has saved your asses quite a few times now, so if you would kindly shut the fu-" Emma was cut off my her Mother, who held an arm in front of her daughter, stern eyes telling her to calm down. Emma slowly sat down, still furious, and crossed her arms over her chest._

_"There will be a punishment for her crimes, we are not sure if it will be by execution-"_

_"WHAT? Are you being serious? She is not dying. End of discussion" _

_"Emma, it is our way, she has done some unspeakable things-" Blue started, looking annoyingly smug sitting at the head table talking of Regina's death. _

_"I don't care for 'your way', you are in my world now and here you get a second chance and Regina has proved that she is worthy time and time again" Emma stood once again, towering over Blue, who kept her smug expression. _

_"Why do you care so much?" came a shout from within the crowd. Normally Emma would just play the Henry card, but she was sick of this argument and she was sick of keeping this secret._

_"BECAUSE I LOVE HER! OKAY? I FELL IN LOVE WITH HER AND I WILL NOT LET YOU KILL HER, SHE IS THE MOTHER OF MY SON AND...and I love her" Silence. Never had such a large group of people had been that quiet. After a moment hurried footsteps could be heard and a soft "Henry..." the door then slammed shut, followed by quieter footsteps and the soft click of the door opening and closing. _

"_Emma?" Snow looked at her daughter who was breathing heavily, looking at the door. Emma shook her head and started for the door._

"_Not now. I need to help my family" Snows mouth clamped shut, stopping herself from saying 'but we are family' and watched her daughter run to the back of the room, swinging the door open. People then started to murmur, which turned into louder voices and soon the town hall was full of noise again. _

_James took the gavel and slammed it on the table repeatedly until the room was relatively quiet again. "Thank you. Now, we will sort whatever this is out, I'm sure there is a good reason for all of this" Ruby sighed to herself and pushed through the crowd to the front and faced everyone._

"_The reason is they love each other" Snow gaped at her friend, as did the majority of the room "I've known for a while now, Emma asked me to keep it to myself and I did because damn it I've never seen Emma this happy. Come on, think about it, Emma has been happier in the past 7 or so months and you know why? It's because of Regina. I know it's hard for some of you to believe, but Regina has changed and Henry and Emma are responsible for that, actually, I have helped too, and so has Archie. We helped by believing that she can change. And she has"_

"Then, your grandfather and I went somewhere more private to talk to Ruby. There was…a lot of shouting. We didn't see you, Emma or Regina for a couple of weeks, during that time your Mothers talked to you and calmed you down about it. You had forgiven your Mom a while before that but obviously it was a lot to accept, but after the two weeks you were…more accepting than most" James broke his silence and continued from where his wife left off.

"The first time we saw you all again was in the Diner, it was quite crowded, but you three just walked in and sat in a booth towards the back. No one actually talked to any of you, except Ruby who was obviously fine with it all. It took a long time before Snow and I had a talk with Emma that didn't end in fights. It was a hard few months" Henry breathed and took it all in. _wow, talk about drama_ He thought, running a hand down his face. Just as he was opening his mouth to speak, there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it" James walked to the front and opened it to be faced with two worried women. "He's here" he said, knowing exactly why they had come here.

"Kid, thank god, we were worried sick!" They had went to his room after calming down and panicked when they found it empty as he could be anywhere and not know where he was, thankfully they agreed to check Snow and James' house first. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, I just…got angry, I'm sorry" Henry stood up and walked to Emma, pulling her into a hug "'m sorry too Ma" when he pulled away, he faced Regina and hesitantly wrapped his arms around her, he felt Regina relax into his hug and tighten her arms around him "I'm…sorry Mom" Regina pulled back and gave Henry a watery smile.

"GiGi!" Elsie made herself heard, and reached her little arms out towards Regina. She released her hold of Henry and took the little girl into her arms, peppering kisses over her face. "and how's my El doing?" she cooed, looking completely natural and content. Elsie answered by laughing and played with Regina's necklace. Kissing her head once more, Regina sat on the armchair with Elsie on her lap.

"Are you…okay?" Emma asked Henry, hoping that her parents have succeeded in calming Henry down. Henry looked down at his feet, swallowing before facing his Ma "I guess so, not…not completely" he wanted to make his Ma happy but at the same time he knew he had to be honest.

"That's okay kid, I understand. Just…don't talk like that to me or your Mom again" When Henry nodded Emma ruffled his hair and gave him a quick one-sided hug. He was far from okay about all of this but he now understands it more, and he is starting to believe that his Mom has changed for the better. He can deal with that at the moment.

His Mother's in a relationship though, _well_ he thought, watching Emma sit on the arm of the chair Regina and Elsie were sitting and tuck some hair behind Regina's ear and quickly stroke her cheek, _that is going to be much harder to deal with._

* * *

**I've always felt that Regina loves children - their innocence and unconditonal love - so I wanted to show that here, also there is more story to Regina and Elsie that I want to explore **_  
_

**Hope you enjoyed!  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you so much to those who reviewed! I really appreciate it :) And thank you for pointing that out Guest - I'm not around children a lot so I have no idea about that stuff so thanks for the help; I will try and make her sound older :)**

**Thanks for reading and please review! :)**

* * *

So the Charming's and the Swan-Mills family sat around the living room; Emma sitting on the arm of the chair Regina and Elsie are sitting on, Henry in the armchair opposite and Snow and James sitting on the couch in the middle. The atmosphere was quite tense, only to be broken by Elsie's obliviousness to the awkward around her.

Elsie wriggled in Regina's lap; signalling to her that she wanted to get up. Regina let Elsie slide off her lap and watched as she toddled off into the direction of her toys in the corner of the room.

"So..." Emma started; she couldn't take the silence much longer. "You remember anything else?" she shifted nervously on the arm of the chair, worried about what he remembered but also hoping that his memory is returning.

"Not really, but gran and gramps filled me in on some stuff" Regina lifted her head up from watching Elsie play and gave a pointed glare to the Charmings.

"Oh? And what 'stuff' is that?" Snow shifted in her seat, wondering that it may have not been her place to reveal some of what she told Henry.

"Um...how the rest of the people from fairy tale land got here and when Emma blurted out to the whole town that she loves you" He said it so casually that everyone blinked in surprise, but really all Henry is doing is trying to deal with it; and the first step of that is to accept that it happened and it _is_ happening.

"Yeah _that_ was dramatic; I felt as if I was on set of a soap! I'm so glad all that is over with" Emma smiled when Regina and her parents nodded in agreement.

A few moments of silence passed before Snow broke it "Henry met his girlfriend today" Henry blushed; he had forgotten about that with everything else going on. Both Emma and Regina grinned at Henry's blushing face and Regina had to refrain from pinching his cheeks and calling him precious.

"Aww Henry! Oh my god it's like when you told us that you liked her" When Emma said this Regina immediately put her hand on her chest and said to a still red faced Henry "That was the most adorable thing. Ever" Henry sunk into his chair; not liking where this conversation is going.

"I wanna tell the story" before Henry could stop his Ma, his grandparents encouraged her to start the story, even Elsie agreed, sitting on the floor with her teddy, eagerly waiting for 'story time'. So the couple wore matched grins and proceeded to make Henry blush even more and sink further into his chair.

_"Um...Mom? Ma?" The boy stood nervously at the edge of the couch that his Mothers are on. Emma looked up from the TV as Regina looked up from her book. _

_"Yes dear, what is the matter?" Regina took off her reading glasses and scooted down the couch so she was next to Emma and patted the now free space beside her. Henry seemed to have an inner conversation with himself before sitting down in the offered seat and facing his parents on the couch._

_"How do you...know if you l-like someone?" He murmured the question, his cheeks already turning into a bright shade of red. Regina, knowing her wife, elbowed Emma in the stomach to stop her from laughing at the poor kid. Emma's laugh quickly turned into 'umf' and she muttered to her darker haired wife "geez overreaction much?" Regina just shushed Emma and turned her attention back to her son. Emma didn't listen and grinned at Henry._

_"So who's the lucky gal or guy?" Emma teased, winking at her already embarrassed son._

_"It's...It's...It doesn't matter, I don't even know if I like her" Henry looked down; not wanting to feel any more embarrassed than he already is. Regina glared at Emma and then placed her hand on Henry's shoulder._

_"Well Henry, how do you feel when she's around?" Regina kept her tone soft and Emma admired how well her wife handles these sorts of things. _

_"Um...happy I guess...but nervous too...I-I don't know" Both his Mothers nearly melted at Henry's innocence and cuteness._

_"Sounds like you like her to me, Kid" Henry looked up and met his Ma's eyes "Really?" Emma chuckled and nodded "Yeah, really. Hell you know how nervous I am around your Mother! Well it's more anger but...it's the same thing. If she makes you happy then go for it!"_

_"Oh...how do I, um, 'go for it'?" Even Regina laughed at this, and both the women managed to supress the 'aw's and 'how cutes's. _

"_You gotta turn the charm on, Kid!" Henry continued to look adorably confused, so Emma went on. "Remember a while ago, before you knew about us, when I got your Mom flowers?" _

"_Yeah. You weren't charming though, that was more nervous wreck Ma" Regina laughed as Emma looked offended "HEY! If you must know the flowers worked, and the 'nervous wreck' was just all part of my charm. Your Mom admitted later that I was adorable standing out there with a big bouquet of flowers" Regina smiled as she remembered the awkward gesture, that was when their relationship started to become serious._

"_Surprisingly enough, your Ma is right. The fact that she was nervous was, well…sweet" Emma leant forward to give Regina a swift kiss on her cheek._

"_Seriously kid. Flowers are the way to a girl's heart. Or chocolate, that's more my kind of thing" Emma smirked, recalling a not so PG 13 memory from a couple weeks ago that involved chocolate. Regina seemed to remember also when she gave Emma a teasing look before going stern; reminding her that they are in front of their son._

"_So flowers. Or chocolate. Flowers AND chocolate?" he asked and grinned when both his Mothers nodded. He jumped out of his seat and sped off. They watched him run off and Emma leant forward, wrapping her arms around the brunette's waist and laying her head on her shoulder._

"_He's growing up so fast" Regina hummed in agreement. "Too fast. It would be great to have him toddling around again, getting into all sorts of trouble that I kind of miss. I hate that you missed it" she turned in Emma's arms to face her._

"_I hate that I missed it too. But hey, I'm here now and I'm so glad I won't miss his first girlfriend. Because that was adorable" Regina chuckled and nodded, and then planted a kiss on her girlfriend._

"It was tough after that though, it seemed that Ava wasn't easily pleased, so it took more than flowers and chocolates" Emma finished the story and Henry let out a relieved breath as it was over. Even with a love for fairy-tales, Henry enjoyed the adventures more than the romance side, so to find out that he went through all that trouble…for a _girl_ was surprising. And gross. Henry scrunched up his face and looked at Emma with a 'really?' question in his eyes to which she responded with a barely contained grin and a confirming nod.

"Oh kid, you are sicken-ly sweet with Ava. Seriously. You rival Snow White and freaking Prince Charming" the rest of the adults in the room nodded in agreement.

"Can we stop talking about this now?" Henry whined, and Emma put her hands up. "Just telling you the facts. But we should go now; don't want little Elsie here to miss her bed time!" Emma got up from the armchair and crouched down in front of Elsie, accepting a hug and kiss on the cheek.

Without much thought, Henry walked over to Elsie and held up is hand for a high five. Elsie slapped her hand against Henry's with all her might and giggled in delight. Henry looked around to see the adults looking at him strangely. "What?"

"It's just…you taught her how to high five. You never fail to give her a high five before you leave" Regina explained with a watery smile. "Oh" Henry shuffled awkwardly where he stood "I didn't really think about it…I just kind of did it" he ducked his head down; not wanting to see the hopeful looks from his parents and grandparents.

Sensing her sons discomfort, Emma clapped her hands together and announced their leave; snapping Regina out of her daze. Regina hugged Elsie and peppered kisses all over her face while Emma and Henry hugged the Charmings.

Even after 7 years of peace (well, as peaceful as Snow White and the 'Evil Queen' can be) things are shaky with Regina and the Charmings; and they always will be. They have learnt to tolerate each other's presence, and on rare occasions they welcome each other. Elsie being born greatly improved Snow and Regina's relationship; even her name means a lot to the former enemies, something that no one else knows about.

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**...which you should be finding out next chapter! I hope you enjoyed :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**The first few paragraphs have been sitting in word for a while and I finally struck inspiration tonight! I hope I get you in the feels a bit during this chapter - means I'm doing my job as writer well haha **

**So here is the story of 'Elsie' - hope you enjoy and please review! **

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After they said their goodbyes, the Swan-Mills family drove home. Henry kept quiet for the rest of the night; only speaking when spoken to. His mothers were worried at this, but Henry was simply taking it all in. He observed the interaction of Regina and Emma, and even though they were obviously reigning in the PDA for Henry, he noticed that they constantly touched each other; as if reassuring the other that they are there.

He also noticed that they almost never stopped bickering, and they can find _anything_ to bicker about. In most of these instances, Henry saw from both his Mothers eyes that they _enjoyed _bickering. He didn't understand it, but they seem to work.

Pushing the thoughts of his Mom and Ma being a _couple_ to the back of his mind, Henry asks his parents about Elsie.

"Well, she definitely helped with keeping the peace. Especially between your mom and your gran...which...I have no idea why..." Emma looked to Regina wondering why she never had questioned why Snow insulted Regina less and Regina bit her tongue from countless opportunities for a sarcastic comment after the little girl was born.

"I guess I never told you. It's nothing really, just...the name Elsie...when we were younger, much...much younger. Even before Daniel...before he was...It was a long time ago" From the looks she was getting from her wife and son it seems she'll be telling this story after all.

_Little Snow White and Regina walked back up the hill towards the apple tree where Daniel was standing; leading the two horses with them. Smiling kindly at the young girl, Daniel took hold of the horses and took them back to the stables, promising Regina that he will return shortly._

_"You are really brave" Snow gleamed up at her saviour, but then her face dropped. "My Mother was also very brave" she looked down; the loss of her Mother still hurting her little heart._

_"Oh, dear, I am so sorry. I am sure she is very proud of you." Snow lifted her head up again, and smiled at Regina once more. "You would make a fine Mother. I wish to be a Mother someday. And I shall have a girl."_

_"You will? And what will her name be?" Regina found herself enjoying the company of the little girl; Mother doesn't let her socialise that often, and when she does it is people of status and power - which is, old men. _

_"Her name will be Emma. What will your baby girl's name be?" Regina smiled; she has fantasised many times about the children she will have with Daniel._

_"I would much rather have a boy; and I would name him after my Father, Henry. But if I were to have a daughter, I would name her Elsie."_

_"Is that your Mother's name?" Regina involuntarily shuddered; as much as she loved her Mother and wanted to make her proud, the name Cora makes her flinch. It wouldn't do to flinch each time you call your daughter's name._

_"Oh, no dear" the younger girl simply smiled "I like the name Elsie. May I use it?" _

_"I thought your daughter's name will be Emma?"_

_"Oh...yes I guess so"_

_"Tell you what, when I have my Henry and you have your Emma, and you have another baby girl, then you may call her Elsie"_ _Snow's smile widened to a grin and she hugged Regina._

_"Oh, thank you, thank you! Promise you will not forget; I promise that I will not!" Regina laughed and pulled out of the hug enough to see the little girl's face._

_"I promise" Daniel appeared again and smiled at the two girls. "Ladies, I am so sorry to interrupt, but Snow it seems that you are being looked for"_

_"Oh! I must get back! I shall see you very soon! Thank you and don't forget!" Snow ran off in a direction and the couple watched as she disappeared over the hill. _

_"What must you not forget, my love" Daniel took his love in his arms._

_"Our promise. That she can name her second daughter Elsie; a name I chose"_

_"I like Elsie" he leaned in and brushed his lips against Regina's. "Me too" she grinned and then kissed him. She is truly happy. _

"Wow. I had no idea that you and Snow were once so...close" during the story, when Cora was mentioned, Emma took Regina's hand into hers and has still not let go.

"Yes well, that was before she broke a much more important promise. But that's...that has been dealt with." Regina has had a lot of time to heal, and even though she will never truly be fixed, some things are much easier to deal with if you just...let them go.

"You let her take your name? Even after all that has happened?" Henry jumped in, amazed by the story his Mom had just told him – that wasn't in the book.

"We talked. As simple as it sounds…Everyone else had left the hospital room leaving just me and Snow"

"I did tell you stay in the room to avoid any catastrophes, but you must have gone to the toilet or something" Emma said to Henry; He found it weird that he had actually done all of this stuff, he doesn't remember it, but it happened and now he has to rely on everybody else to tell him his life.

_Henry was fidgeting in his chair next to Regina. He desperately had to go to the bathroom, but his Ma told him that he had to stay. _

"_Oh for goodness sakes Henry, go. We'll be fine, she's asleep." He looked from Regina to the sleeping form of Snow on the bed in the middle of the room a few times before his bladder won and he sped out of the room._

_The slam of the door shocked Snow awake, she was exhausted – she had just given birth after all. Snow looked around the room, seeing her newly born daughter sleeping quietly in the cot, and only one other – Regina. _

"_Regina." Snow kept her tone as firm as possible, which is difficult in her exhausted state._

"_Snow." The two women stared at each other – none of them willing to be the one to break the eye contact. A baby's cry interrupted their staring contest. Snow tried to sit up and edge to the cot, which, for Regina, was taking way too much time. She sighed and got up, lifting the baby up in her arms. The baby immediately stopped her crying and completely relaxed in Regina's arms; the former Evil Queen seemed to relax too._

_Snow stayed quiet for a moment, studying Regina looking so content with a baby in her arms. It reminded her of a promise made long ago. "She is my second daughter" Snow murmured; Regina looked up whilst rolling her eyes "Really, dear, I must ask you not to talk to me like you must have to to your idiot of a husband"_

_Snow ignored the insult and continued "You have your Henry, I have my Emma." Her words were quiet and said with a small smile, she looked up at Regina who was reliving a memory from long ago. "I don't want to break anymore promises to you, Regina" she whispered, and Regina's mouth opened slightly, not exactly __knowing __how to react._

_In that moment, Emma and David returned, their faces wary as they take in the scene of Snow looking thoughtfully up at Regina who was holding the baby. Henry came running in a second later, trying to make it look like he never left. Snow looked away from Regina to find all her family in the room._

"_Everybody meet…" She looked back to Regina with a questioning look in her eyes. With watery eyes Regina gave a small subtle nod. "Elsie. Meet Elsie Charming" Not taking much notice to the exchange of the former enemies, the rest of the room rushed over to the bed. Regina quickly passed Elsie onto the first set of arms thrust in her direction and turned her back to everyone to compose herself._

_When she turned back, she saw the two idiots cuddling in the single hospital bed – she managed to keep in her gag – and Emma sitting with Elsie in her arms. Henry must've gone to the toilet again – he had consumed a lot of soda beforehand to keep him alert through the birth. Emma looked up and motioned Regina to join her. She sat down in the seat next to Emma, and peered down to her lap where little Elsie lay. _

"_This is pretty weird you know? I'm….I'm a sister…HA…oh my god….I have a sister" Regina smiled at her ramblings and gently ran a finger through Elsie's jet black hair. "And you're an Aunty…Aunty Gina" Emma grinned teasingly and the brunette just shook her head, looking firmly down at Elsie, trying to block Emma's view of the tears forming in her eyes._

"_Hey, hey are you alright?" Emma began to shift awkwardly with the baby still in her arms. "No, no it's okay" Regina held the emotions in as best as she can and gave a convincing smile to the blonde. "I'm okay. Just prolonged exposure to the idiots" Emma knew by now who Regina is referring to when she says 'idiots', and she lets some of those insults slide because maybe, once or twice, she has called them idiots too. It's a catchy name. _

"_If you say so. But we're talking tonight." Emma knows that there is no use in trying to get her to open up with other people around. "Oh? I was hoping we do something much more entertaining than…talking." Regina's voice went dangerously low. Emma took a moment to compose herself and answered "There will be plenty of time to do that and talk. You're not getting out of this Mills." _

_Regina sighed, defeated, she will have to indulge the blonde or she will never let it go. She will just have to not tell the whole truth, some things were better left a secret, she thought as she caught Snow's eyes, returning the hesitant smile._

"That explains a lot. Back then I was weirded out by your sudden truce with my Mother, but I decided not to question it, cause, you know, we were happier than ever before." She lightly squeezed the hand she is still holding.

"Now you know. We didn't explicitly say it was a secret, so I'm sure this is not highly hypocritical of me." She said with a smirk. Emma laughed; glad that she can joke about it all now. Henry yawned, prompting Regina to look at the time. "Ok, let's head up, we have work tomorrow"

_Now that's a good point_, Henry thought, _am I still in school? Do I have a job?_ "What do I do now?" both his Mothers froze, causing Henry to scrunch his eyebrows in confusion.

"You…you have a job at the…stables"

"Oh cool! Why are you guys acting weird?" Emma sighed, looking at the clock and realising that it's going to be a long night.

"I guess the time has come to tell you how you got into that coma that caused you to lose your memory…"

* * *

**Just wanted to let you know that I don't have a beta, so all mistakes are mine, and I also don't really know much about beta's - do they just fix the grammar + spelling? or is it guidance on plot/character development? - just curious :)**

**And do tell me if you think I'm in need of a beta reader - and where to find a patient one to deal with a newbie! Thank you for reading and review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**I am so sorry for the wait! For some reason this chapter did not want to be written, I hope it is worth the wait! So Henry's accident is revealed in this chapter, and there's some cute Swan Queen to end it :) **

**Please review and enjoy!**

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"_I guess the time has come to tell you how you got into that coma that caused you to lose your memory…"_

"You've been working at the stable officially for just under a year now, but you helped out at the weekends and after school for quite a while. You love it. Just like any Tuesday, you headed to the stables in the morning to ride on your favourite horse; Merlin...you went on a trail but for some reason you were found quite far away from the path, we assume that you lost control of Merlin and he ran off course, throwing you off him. It's not like him, at all. But I guess something spooked him."

"I can ride a horse? Cool!" Emma had to laugh at that, of course that is all he picked up.

"Yeah, and you're pretty good at it too. Now you scared us kid, like, a lot. But we - you were very lucky as you were pretty much unharmed...nothing broken or sprained. I would have thought you were faking if your eyes weren't all glazed over…"

* * *

_"Sheriff Swan." Emma was in her office, and it had been a quiet day. She had just been heading out to get some lunch when the phone rang._

_"Emma! You need to go to the stables now" Ruby sounded out of breath._

_"What? What's wrong - Henry! Is he alright?" The few seconds of silence after she said that were the longest seconds of Emma's life. _

_"I-I don't know...Emma-" The sheriff slapped her hand over her mouth as tears immediately sprung from her eyes._

_"What do you mean you don't know!?" Her voice cracked with anger and sadness as she paced back and forth in her office, not knowing what to do._

_"Oh Em," Ruby exhaled a shaky breath "It's all crazy down here, you-you have to be here ok? Get Regina and drive down, everything will be explained" _Oh god Regina_ Emma thought, the tears still hot and thick, trailing down her face._

_After hanging up the phone, Emma tried her best to calm herself down. When that didn't work, she rushed off to the squad car and drove to her home._

_"Regina!" How am I going to explain this, I don't even know what's going on. She paced the foyer, and turned when she heard the clicking of her wife's heels._

_"You came home for lunch? I didn't make anything so- Emma? Emma what's wrong?" Regina took in the image of the tear stained face and hurried movements of Emma and walked towards her, steadying her movements by placing her hands on Emma's shoulders and looking her in the eye. When they made eye contact, Emma crumpled and all but collapsed into Regina's arms, sobbing against her._

_"Emma you're scaring me, what's happened? What's wrong? Come on, calm down, it will do no good Henry seeing you like this" Hearing Henry's name, the blonde looked up, readying herself to try to explain._

_"H-henry...I don't know what's happened...we need to go to the stables, I don't know Regina I just don't" Emma tried to be strong, for Henry, for Regina, but the uncertainty was too much to bear, after everything they've been through._

_Regina's heart stopped beating for a second, and she was about to break like her wife, but she knows that she needs to be the strong one right now, she has to believe that everything will be ok. It will be ok._

_"Emma, you have to calm down, we'll g-go to the stables and Henry will be there and he'll laugh at you for worrying so much...ok?" She cupped Emma's face and wiped away her tears, kissing her firmly before she pulled away, grabbing her car keys and then Emma's hand. "Let's go"_

_After breaking many speed limits and making it there in record time, the two mothers ran frantically to where they saw a large group of people. It was too similar to a time long ago when both parents sped to where their son was, lying down, still. They pushed through the crowd, coming to an abrupt stop where they saw their boy, lying on the ground, with Whale assessing him. _

_"What happened? Is he awake? Is he..." Emma choked on her tears, and Whale stood up, quick to tell them all he can._

_"We can't be for sure what happened, but it looks like he lost control of Merlin, taking him away from the path, and throwing Henry off. He's...alive. No broken or sprained limbs and from what I can see there is no major head injuries-"_

_"Just get to the point why is he not awake?" Regina shouted, her patience gone. Henry's glazed eyes were slightly open, and the image disturbed Regina. She seeked blindly for Emma's hand, gripping tightly when she found it, relieved slightly when Emma gripped just as tightly back._

_"I need to take him in for a proper examination, it just looks like he's unconscious, but I need to do some tests" Not waiting for another command or insult, Whale and some nurses readied the stretcher and carried Henry's unmoving body to the back of the ambulance, his Mother's with him._

_Emma and Regina seeked comfort from each other, simultaneously giving and taking on the ride to the hospital, holding on to one another and Henry's hand. It all went in a blur, and soon they were in the hospital waiting room with Whale telling them that there is no explanation, but he's alive, everything's stable, it's all just a waiting game he said, regretting his words when Regina lashed out at him for calling her sons life a 'game'. _

_They sat together on one side of his hospital bed, no words were spoken. There was nothing they could do but wait._

_So they waited._

* * *

"It was a tough 2 weeks…but that doesn't matter, you're here now" Emma looked at her son with a small smile; it was hard to relive that time through telling it.

"Whoa…it's weird though, isn't it?" They started to gather their things and head up the stairs, Emma leading the pack being the most exhausted.

"What do you mean?" Regina asked; glaring at Emma's back as she picked up the red leather jacket that was draped across the banister.

"That I wasn't hurt at all. Getting thrown on to the ground has gotta do some damage, right?" They reached Henry's bedroom door and Emma sighed.

"Let's just thank the Gods that you didn't get damaged instead of questioning it" Emma's voice was turning into a whine as her eyelids drooped lower and lower. Henry frowned, not impressed that his Ma brushed off his speculation.

"Don't take it personally Henry, she's impatient with everyone when she's tired" His Mom explained, sounding tired herself. He decided to let it go, for tonight. But tomorrow he'll go to the stables and investigate the scene himself.

* * *

Emma collapsed on her side of the bed after changing into a fresh pair of boy shorts and a white vest. The blonde sighed contentedly as she snuggled into the comfy bed. Just before she became dead to the world, she felt the bed dip and a slight chill when the sheets were lifted briefly.

"Mmmmm" Emma blindly reached for Regina, and cuddled up to her side. "So glad I'm back where I belong" Emma didn't think much of her words, being half asleep. That was not the case for Regina, whose heart jumped as she held Emma closer, wondering how in the world her life ended up this way. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but that was just it. Why would you want perfect when you've got the beautiful and broken saviour in your arms?


	11. Chapter 11

**I am so so sorry for the long wait! I hope you don't lose faith in me as I am NOT going to give up on this story, I have a feeling it will be finishing in the next few chapters, but it all depends :)**

**I hope you enjoy this one, and laugh at Henry's expense in the first memory :') Enjoy and please please Review!**

* * *

Henry ran down the stairs early the next morning, eager to start on his new operation; he hasn't figured out a name for it yet. He made it to the front door before he was stopped by his Mom's voice.

"And just where are you going?" Henry's shoulders slumped and he turned to see Regina with her hands on her hips.

"Um...out?" Regina raised her eyebrows at her son before heading back to the kitchen whilst pointing her finger forwards. "Kitchen. If you must go 'out', you at least need some breakfast"

The boy sighed and slowly followed his Mother to the kitchen and leant on the counter. "Where's Ma?" Henry asked, noticing the absence of his blonde Mother.

"She's already at work, I decided to stay at home until you woke up so you don't do anything reckless" Regina narrowed her eyes slightly at Henry.

"I just wanted to go to the stables...no big deal" Henry mumbled as he buttered his piece of toast. He heard Regina sigh and he got himself ready for a lecture.

"It is a big deal, the last time you were there you-...I'm just worried, Henry" Regina tried her best to mask the wave of emotion that hit her.

"Mom...please can I go? Maybe I'll remember something important. Please?" He gave his Mom his best puppy eyes, _if Ma can do it I can_.

"Just promise me. Please promise me you won't so much as mount a horse" Henry nodded excitedly, what he plans today doesn't even involve riding a horse.

"Yes yes I promise! Thanks Mom!" Henry took a big bite of his unfinished toast and sped off. Regina sighed and started to clean up after him. A second later Henry ran back in and kissed her on the cheek, shouting a 'thank you' again as he ran outside. Regina smiled while she stared after her son, _that's more like the boy I know_.

* * *

Henry got as far as the diner when he realised he didn't know the way to the stables. So he headed inside in hope to find someone who will help him. In one of the booths sat Ava and her brother Nick. Nick; facing him, saw him first and waved. Henry smiled and began to walk over to the booth, confident that they knew where the stables are.

"Hey how've you been?" greeted Nick, sipping on his morning coffee.

"Okay, I guess. It's just…a lot has changed" Henry shrugged.

"Is this about your Moms?" Henry was taken aback by the directness of the question. Ava glared at her brother before turning to Henry.

"Sorry, we're just used to well...talking about everything"

"Even about my Moms?" Henry asked, his face scrunched up in confusion.

"Well yeah" Nick answered "You don't shut up about them. I don't mind, seriously, but it's all _'Mom has been in a mood for a week because Ma broke another microwave_' or _'They've made up again. It's worse_'. It's quite entertaining really" Ava started to laugh, causing the boys to give her a weird look.

"What's so funny sis?"

"Just remembering..." Ava then did an expression of a really disturbed look which caused Nick to start laughing also.

"What am I missing here?"

"I almost don't want you to go through it again, although, we only saw the aftermath" Nick said in way of an explanation and then started to recall the story for Henry.

"Me and Ava invited you over to ours, and you sounded fine on the phone, but you saw something before you arrived at ours and let's just say you looked pretty traumatised…"

_"Henry! Whoa, Henry are you ok?" Henry walked into the house, his face frozen and he made no sound as he sat on the couch, staring at the wall in front of him. Ava sat next to him and frowned when he flinched away from her touch._

_"Babe? What's wrong?" he was silent for a while, before he finally spoke up, in a quiet voice._

_"My Moms made up" Confused, Ava tried and failed to lay a hand on him again._

_"That's great Henry...but what's gotten you all shaken up?" Henry looked up at Ava then Nick, his eyes wide._

_"I've seen things...things that no son should see...WHY IN THE KITCHEN?!" His sudden outburst caused Ava to jump, but Nick who has caught on to what Henry had witnessed, started laughing._

_"Oh my god dude I'm so sorry...see anything good?" Nick laughed harder, but quietened down when Henry threw a cushion at his head. _

_"A kitchen is a public place in the house, right?" When all Ava and Nick did was stare at him he continued, voice risen "RIGHT?" The siblings quickly nodded, and tried to hold their laughter in._

"_So it is NOT acceptable to…to…"_

"_Have hot sex on the kitchen counter?" Nick finished for Henry, ducking this time when a pillow came at his head. Henry put his head in his hands, and while he wasn't looking, Ava and Nick burst into silent laughter, an intake of breath heard every now and then._

"_I'm never going to be able to eat in that kitchen again" Henry stated seriously, looking devastated, causing the twins to completely let their laughter free._

Nick finished the story wiping the tears from his eyes. Henry wore a facial expression very similar to that day and whispered "I had toast in the kitchen this morning" The twins laughter could be heard from outside the Diner. Henry was glad he lost _that _particular memory.

* * *

The Sheriff was playing paper basketball when Regina walked in. "Hard at work as always I see" Emma jumped and spun around in her office chair, a scrunched up piece of paper in her hands.

"Hey" Emma said sheepishly, placing the paper ball on the desk. "I was…just getting rid of unneeded documents?" Emma tried, hoping her boss will let her off the hook…again. Regina approached Emma's desk and smiled widely as she deposited a rather heavy load of paperwork in front of Emma.

"Well then Sheriff, once you've finished…_getting rid of unneeded documents_, you have a lot of paperwork to catch up on" Emma groaned and leaned her head on her desk; it seems it is going to be a long day for her. Regina patted Emma on the head a few times, smirking as she did so.

"Oh poor _baby_. Think yourself lucky that you're not the Mayor, this is nothing compared to mine" Emma lifted her head from the desk as Regina lifted herself up and sat on the desk, effectively blocking Emma from the work she was oh-so excited to get started on.

"How was Henry this morning?" Emma hopes that Henry hasn't said anything hurtful to Regina, they have made some progress but her son is like her when it comes to running his mouth ahead of his brain.

"He was fine, if not eager to go to the stables. I got him to promise not to ride but it didn't seem he wanted to anyway…he thinks he might remember something important" Emma had wheeled her chair closer to the desk, next to where Regina sat, laying a hand over Regina's thighs.

"Yeah. I think he wants to go 'investigate', I don't think he'll do anything dangerous, it's just so weird seeing him like this again, planning operations and making a quest of everything" Both Mothers stared off, seeing a younger Henry go on his 'adventures'.

"He did do that often…like when Pongo went missing for a day, and Henry took it upon himself to set off a whole search party when Pongo was just sleeping in his kennel all day" Emma chuckled at the memory, remembering Henry's "oh" when he discovered where Pongo was 'hiding'.

Emma leaned up and captured Regina's lips for a kiss, to distract herself and, more importantly, Regina from the mountain of paperwork on her desk. Regina indulged her wife for a moment, slowly sliding off the desk with their lips still attached. The Mayor grabbed Emma's hands and pulled them both to one side behind her, firmly holding them on top of the paperwork. She gave one last kiss before pulling away completely and pushed the office chair into the desk, Emma now in working position.

"I want you home for dinner so I suggest you get started" Regina smirked at Emma's dazed look and left the office. A few moments later Emma woke up from her daze, and found herself holding a pen poised above the mountain of paperwork.

"Damn you woman" she muttered under her breath, and got to work.

* * *

Henry arrived at the stables, feeling good after talking to Ava and Nick, it was effortless to talk to them and he is really glad that they were his friends. The twins went their own way after walking with Henry to the stables, leaving him on his own.

The moment he walked in his eyes darted across the 6 horses that lived there, and he found himself walking up to a beautiful black horse, which had a white stripe down his nose and white socks. Henry gingerly reached out to touch his nose, but backed up quickly when his head started to swim. He collapsed to the ground, yet another memory taking over him.

"_Hurry up! You gotta see how awesome he is!" Henry noticed he was in the doorway of the stables, calling out to his parents who were slowly walking up towards him._

"_Alright, we're here. Now where's Marvin?" Henry found himself rolling his eyes at Emma. "It's __**Merlin**__" _

"_Sorry, where's __**Merlin**__" Henry smiled and lead his Mothers to the horse he has made his own._

"_He's beautiful Henry" Regina praised, stroking the horse's nose. Henry stood proudly next to the horse and begun to explain why he chose this particular horse._

"_He reminded me of you two. You see he's all black, which is awesome and beautiful and dark – that's you Mom, but he also has white on his nose and legs which is awesome and beautiful and light – that's Ma. You know, you balance each other out with the darkness and the lightness." He finished with a big grin and the 17 year old Henry was struck with this feeling of understanding why Regina and Emma are together._

When Henry came to, he lifted himself off the ground and while he regained his composure he thought about what he heard his memory self say. Hearing himself say it, and say it so simply made him think that maybe his Mothers are meant for each other after all.

Getting back to the task at hand, he grabbed a saddle bag in case he needed to collect any evidence and he fitted the bridle to Merlin without any struggle, it seems his memory is just scratching the surface of his mind, little bits bleeding through. He allowed Merlin to lead him, one hand holding the loose reigns while the other holds the saddle bag.

"Um, Merlin? Do you think you could take me to where they found me?" It was a long shot to ask a horse, but his name _was_ Merlin. The horse seemed to understand and began leading Henry down a trail. After about 10 minutes of following the trail, Merlin stopped and nudged Henry in a direction off the pathway.

Getting the message, Henry headed off in that direction, searching for evidence along the way. Just as Henry was about to give up something sparkly caught his eye. He ran up and immediately scooped up the evidence in the saddle bag and ran back to Merlin, heading back down the trail to the stables, eager to share his findings with his Mothers.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey! I was going to update last night, but then _THE_ promo pic happened and I couldn't concentrate on anything, I'm still not over it asdfghjkl;**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy and please review!**

**A/N: This fic is quite close to 100 reviews (Thank you so much!) So if you are the 100th reviewer, I'll message you and then you can give me a SQ one-shot prompt! I'll then try my best and post it for you :) **

* * *

Emma victoriously threw her pen down on the desk when she finished the last of her paperwork, stretching her stiff muscles. The smile wiped from her face when she noticed the time - she was late for dinner. She hastily grabbed her car keys and sped off to the door, and she hoped Regina was in a forgiving mood tonight.

Emma arrived home in record time, and when she opened the front door she was greeted by her wife; hands on her hips. "I am so sorry I'm late. In my defence, I finished all my paperwork"

"That is no excuse. I had more paperwork than you and I managed to get home and cook dinner for you. Your plate is in the microwave - please try not to break it this time." Emma sighed - she was never going to live that down. Regina made it a point to remind Emma of breaking the microwave whenever the opportunity rose. Emma took a breath, ready to apologise again but Regina interrupted her.

"I don't want to hear it. Now hurry up, Henry has been dying to tell us something all night but he wanted us both to be here." Regina rolled her eyes and turned on her heels, and joined Henry back in the sitting room. Emma quickly re-heated her food and refrained from eating it in the sitting room - Regina was pissed as it is. So she ate as quick as possible, knowing full well that her wife's patience was growing thinner by the minute.

* * *

When Emma walked into the sitting room after finishing her food, she found Henry practically bouncing in his seat holding a small brown bag, and Regina trying to keep her stern expression in place for Emma - but the boy's antics kept lifting the ends of Regina's mouth.

"Sorry kid" Henry shrugged, and Emma looked to the person she was really apologising to, who was avoiding her gaze. Emma sighed and sat down. "So what do you want to tell us?"

While Henry explained, he untied the bag and poured its contents on the coffee table in front of him. "I found this on the floor around where I had my accident, this is magic stuff right?" Regina leant forward, examining the dust more closely. Her eyes widened and she froze, staring at the evidence.

"That's not..." Emma scooted closer to Regina to get a better look. Henry watched them and started to get impatient, growing more and more curious by the second. "What? What is it?"

"Well, if I'm not mistaken, that's fairy dust" Regina looked confused, as did Emma, who nodded in agreement to Regina's statement.

"But I thought the fairies left ages ago?" Henry hasn't found out the specifics yet, but he knows that all the fairies left Storybrooke together. "They did. And they took all the dust with them." Regina narrowed her eyes at the dust on the table, feeling very unnerved at its presence.

"Why would they do that? If they left Storybrooke, it would be just dust"

"It was one of those 'if we can't have it, no one else can' kinda things...the fairies, Blue especially, wanted to use magic. And even more, Blue wanted power"

* * *

_A large, round table dominated the room with every seat around it filled with Storybrooke's leaders and important people. The monthly town meetings became less and less necessary, and now only a handful meets up monthly to bring up ideas and deal with problems. In this particular month, The Blue Fairy and Nova stood from their seats, Blue clearing her throat to get the rooms attention._

_"As you all know, the fairies have been doing an excellent job at containing the fairy dust, and only using it when it is absolutely necessary. We have discussed the subject a lot, and we agree that the dwarves should continue to mine for the fairy dust so Storybrooke can thrive on the magic that we once had in our old world. Of course, only the fairies can use it, but you all know to trust us."_ _Blue finished with a sickeningly sweet smile._

_Emma, who sat in between Regina and Snow, shook her head before she spoke up. "We don't need magic here, especially not as powerful as that stuff. It was useful during the battle, but that was ages ago now, and most have settled in this world" Blue's smile only faltered slightly before she tilted her head to the side, speaking in a patronising tone._

_"Oh, Princess Emma, I am truly sorry you didn't grow up in our world, but that is why you simply don't understand the need for magic" Emma rolled her eyes at being called 'Princess' and tried to not react to the obvious implication that she was clueless._

_"You do realise that you just addressed the product of true love - no, the saviour about magic, she knows more than you ever will about magic" Regina was never known to keep silent at these meetings. Emma had insisted that she be included and Snow reluctantly agreed._

_Emma couldn't stop the small smile that appears every time Regina sticks up for her as she looks back up to Blue, challenging her with her eyes. "See? I know what I'm talking about. And using magic will not help us stay off the radar to the rest of the world, we can't afford anymore close calls" A few people seated at the table nodded in agreement._

_"That can easily be avoided with the use of fairy dust. Make people un-see what they shouldn't have seen." _

_"You can just do that! We can survive without magic. We can 'thrive' without magic. What's that stupid catchphrase Rumplestiltskin always used? Oh yeah 'All magic come with a price'" Emma included a visual aid with the catchphrase by dramatically waving her arm to the side. David quietly chuckled and Emma could practically hear Regina's eye roll. Blue glared before she moved her eyes away from Emma, her eyes softening when they landed on Snow._

_"Snow, you must understand the need for magic" All heads turned to Snow. _

_"While I must admit there are perks with magic around, the risk is just far too great to take. My daughter is right, we do not need magic anymore" Blue's face dramatically darkened. Snow, ignoring this, addressed the rest of the room._

_"But of course, there shall be a vote. All those in favour of having magic in Storybrooke please stand from your seats" Blue and Nova stayed standing, Blue glaring around the room, daring them not to stand. It soon dawned on the fairies that they are alone in this argument._

"_So it's decided. We'll keep the remaining fairy dust in safe containment and it shall only be used when the town is in danger" This is when Blue pulled out her wand, and pointed it in the direction of the Charmings._

"_Don't make me do this. It's bad enough she" the fairy pointed the wand to Regina, who didn't flinch "took me from where I had power, but now I have to live without magic? Like a mere mortal?" Everyone in the room was shocked at the fairy's words, all except Nova, who kept her head low._

"_Blue! What is wrong with you? Why are you acting this way?" Snow was mortified, seeing such a dark side to the once trusted fairy._

"_I've always been this way, little girl. I just had to make the right allies, so I can always rise in power. I was so close to collecting all the magic in our world, I hid all the Giants' beans, I stored as much fairy dust as I could without it going completely extinct. I did EVERYTHING and then YOU ruined it all with your DAMN CURSE" _

_The fairy lifted her wand and swirled it towards Regina. Emma quickly stood in front of Regina and held one hand out in front of her, while the other hand sought out Regina's. It wasn't necessary for them to combine their magic for a blocking spell, but it gives Emma the confidence she needs to do her magic effectively. _

_By now everyone in the room were ready for battle. Blue had other ideas. "So be it, then. The fairies are leaving Storybrooke, and we are taking the dust with us"_

"_But the dust will be useless out there" Blue just smiled and shook her head before she disappeared, Nova following seconds later._

* * *

"When we checked later, all the fairy dust was gone along with all the fairies. There's been no sign of them since…until now"

"So what do we do now?" Henry asked, excited that his operation is more successful than he thought it would be. Emma and Regina looked at each other, having one of their silent conversations. They nodded and spoke at the same time.

"Gold"


	13. Chapter 13

**I am so sorry. This chapter just didn't want to be written. But it is here, finally, and I hope the wait was worth it! I want to thank everyone who has followed/favourited this story and a big thanks to the reviews! **

**Soon I will write the prompt that the 100th reviewer left for me :)**

**Anyways, enjoy and please tell me what you think!**

* * *

Henry found himself smiling in the backseat of the car while they drove to Gold's shop. Not only was he correct in his operation, but his Mother's didn't stop him when he climbed in the back of the car, in all honesty, the boy was waiting for a '_Let the adults take over now'_ speech, but it never came, he was beginning to see the perks of being 17. He also was starting to find humour and a strange understanding in how his Mothers interact, and he struggled to hold in his laugh as he listened to them bicker through the journey.

"Come on Regina, I said I was sorry" the blonde whined behind the wheel.

"I know. I heard the first five times" Emma sighed and glanced at Regina who was pointedly looking out her car door window.

"So tell me what to do! And don't give me any of that 'you should know' crap" Henry eagerly awaited his Mom's response, watching their argument like a tennis match from the backseat of the car.

"It is not 'crap'. You should know. Shouldn't she Henry?" The boy blinked at being pulled into the argument, and he grinned when he met his blonde Mother's eyes in the rear-view mirror – who was obviously trying to convey the message 'DON'T TAKE HER SIDE' through her eyes. He continued grinning as he looked in the direction of Regina.

"Yeah, you totally should know, Ma" Regina returned his grin while Emma groaned. "You guys always gang up on me"

"You're just too easy, dear" Regina laid her hand on Emma's forearm with a smirk on her face while the blonde murmured a quiet "Whatever".

* * *

The trio arrived at Gold's shop, surprisingly still in business as not many people are brave enough to enter the Dark One's domain, though these days they don't have a lot to be scared of – unless you catch him in a particularly bad mood. The little bell chimed above their heads as they walked in; attracting the attention of the owner who was shining up one of his antiques.

"Ah, the Sheriff, the Mayor and their forgetful boy…to what do I owe the pleasure?" Gold got his pleasures these days by taking cheap shots at any given chance. Unlucky for him though, the family did not rise to the bait.

"What do you know of the fairies?" Regina asked; getting straight to the point.

"As much as you do dearie, they got in a hissy fit when they didn't get their way and left, with all their pretty dust, too" Gold looked disinterested but he was curious as to why Regina asked about the fairies.

"Would you happen to know if they have returned?" Her eyes narrowed at the man; trying to decipher if he had a hand in all this.

"Can't say I do, no. Not that I have any interest, but why the sudden interest in fairies?" The family looked to each other and decided to inform Gold of Henry's findings, even if he is involved he'd now eventually anyway.

"This was found where Henry had his _accident_" Regina lifted the bag and threw it over to Gold who cautiously opened the bag and lifted some of its contents; rubbing the grains of the dust in between his fingers before letting it fall back in the bag. His eyebrows rose as he continued to inspect the fairy dust.

"Ah. Well that is curious"

"What is?" Emma asked; not in the mood for his riddles.

"It seems that our dear friends the fairies didn't _actually_ leave Storybrooke, it seems that they have been in hiding for quite a while, and I suspect that is where their beloved fairy dust is as well." Emma rolled her eyes; she could have figured as much and started to leave the shop, steering Henry out with a hand on his shoulder.

"Perhaps Sir Henry here could jog his memory by going for a nice ride on his horse" They looked back but Gold was already retreating to the back of his shop.

"I guess we are going to the stables then"

* * *

"Ugh can't I just walk next you?" Emma whined as Regina helped the not-so-graceful Swan onto her horse. Emma never got the hang of riding nor did she ever want to, so when the rare time comes that she rides a horse it is done so behind Regina, clinging on for dear life.

"Honestly, dear if you'd just let me teach you we wouldn't have this problem every time we ride!" Regina lightly tapped Emma's bottom before giving her a final boost that got her safely on the horses' back. She then (much more elegantly) hoisted herself up in front of Emma and took the reins.

"Are you okay, Henry?" Both Mothers looked over to Henry who just lifted himself onto Merlin.

"Yeah, it seems pretty easy…like I don't remember _how_ I know, but I know what to do" He squeezed his knees inwards and Merlin started to trot down the trail Henry walked down earlier that day. "Like riding a bike huh kid?" Emma tightened her grip around Regina's waist when their horse started following Merlin.

"Are you sure you know where you're going, Henry?" Emma questioned when they moved off the trail.

"Yeah. Kinda. I found the fairy dust over there by that fence" They moved over to the fence and got off the horses. Henry pointed to where specs of fairy dust still remain on the floor.

"So are you remembering anything?" Emma moved to the front of Henry while Regina stayed at his back; ready to catch him if he falls. Henry shook his head and looked around the area, willing for something to trigger to his memory. There was silence as Henry waited for a memory to take over him. He was about to give up when he heard a faint crackle of fire in the distance, the sound caused him to fall backwards into Regina's arms.

* * *

_Henry was atop of Merlin, back at the trail. It seems that he had decided to have his dinner off the trail and into the fields. He and Merlin made their way across the land until they got to a spot where he could have his dinner. Henry dismounted Merlin and was about to lift his lunch out of Merlin's saddle bag when he heard the faint sound of fire crackling._

_This was enough for the Henry in the memory to grow suspicious and investigate the sound. He walked slowly and carefully, and the sound brought him closer to the fence that lined the fields, where the edge of the forest started. Henry was sure he heard a few voices as he got closer to the forest edge, so he spoke up._

"_Hello? Anyone there?" the murmurs stopped immediately and shortly after a snap of a twig echoed the surrounding area. _

"_Oh shoot! I'm sorry!"_

"_Nova! SHUSH"_

_The shouted whispers lead Henry into the forest and what he saw made him gasp in surprise. A group of fairies huddled together all turned to Henry. For a few minutes, no one spoke, Henry stood open mouthed while the fairies stared back._

"_Oh, Prince Henry, you've grown so much! How lovely-"_

"_Why are you here?" Henry knew of Blue's parting words all those years ago and knows she is a threat._

"_Well, you certainly have grown into a brave knight. Foolish, but brave, like your mother and your grandfather" Henry ignored the comment and surveyed the group of fairies, his eyes landing on the bag filled to the brim with fairy dust held by Nova. _

"_You've been mining for fairy dust…" Henry said to himself, and Blue clapped slowly._

"_Oh you clever boy! You all actually thought I would leave Storybrooke and lose my magic? Just you wait, because when the time comes, magic will be everywhere and I will control it" Blue stepped closer to Henry, looking intimidating even though Henry towered above her._

"_Um Blue?"  
_

"_What Nova?" Blue sighed, turning around to the other fairy._

"_It is not time yet and…and you just told him of…everything" Nova stuttered._

"_Ah yes. Well Nova, I'm sure you know what to do"_

"_Wha- oh yes of course" Nova hurried forward and before Henry could react she threw a handful of fairy dust at his face. "Not that much! Oh never mind, it's not our problem. Now Nova, pick the boy up and dump him somewhere. I'm sure someone will find him eventually"_

_The memory faded away as the fairies left an unconscious, glazed eyed Henry on the floor._

* * *

"We're in trouble" Henry muttered as he came to, the faces of his Mothers coming into focus. They helped him sit up and the boy took a moment to recover before telling them what he saw.

"So I guess we're going into the forest?" Henry asked after he finished.

"No. Not yet. We need to inform others of this and we need a plan of action. It sounds like they have been gathering a large amount of fairy dust over the years so they will be very powerful. We'll need all the help we can get" Regina was already formulating a plan in her head to deal with the fairies before they get too powerful for them to fight against.

"Great. 'Plan of action' meetings. Cause they always go so well" Emma mused, referring to the many fights that happen in the town hall when the town have to make decisions. Regina sighed as she helped Emma back onto the horse, thinking if happy endings ever are permanent.

On the ride back, Emma sensed Regina's distress and tried to soothe her by lightly stroking her hips and she placed a kiss on the side of her jaw.

"It's gonna be okay. We're always okay." Regina took a deep breath and let her wife's words repeat in her head as they headed back to the stables.

_We're always okay. _

_It's going to be okay. _


End file.
